LAS VEGAS, Jan 29 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama appealed for a "common-sense" and comprehensive overhaul of U.S. immigrations laws on Tuesday to help undocumented immigrants "get on the right side of the law." In a speech in Las Vegas, Obama said an overhaul would strengthen the U.S. economy. He said some issues will be difficult to negotiate with Congress, but "now's the time" for change. (Reporting by Steve Holland and Jeff Mason; Editing by Will Dunham)

A bipartisan group of senators have come together to address the issue of immigration reform. The group consists of four members of each party -- Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Michael Bennet of Colorado, plus Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida, John McCain of Arizona and Jeff Flake of Arizona. Their framework was announced Monday.

A "tough but fair" road to citizenship is the main tenet of the bipartisan immigrant plan. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is the most significant supporter of this idea, giving hope to those who doubt Republicans will support the plan.

The new process of obtaining citizenship would be just that -- a process. Probationary citizens would be required to pass an additional background check, learn English, pay taxes and show that they have a history of employment to apply for permanent residence and a green card.
Undocumented immigrants will receive green cards after all probationary citizens have been processed, ensuring that documented immigrants are addressed first.
Separate processes would be designed for young undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children and agricultural workers.

The first goal, before any green cards are handed out, is to "demonstrate our commitment to securing our borders and combating visa overstays," the senators say in their framework.

Emphasizing enforcement measures, the framework calls for increased boarder control, including more border agents and aerial surveillance and drones. A new system would be added to ensure visa stays are being adhered to, along with a commission of border lawmakers to aid legislation.

The senators have proposed to create an "effective employment verification system" that would help prevent identity theft while allowing employers to feel secure in hiring documented immigrants.

Immigrants who are in the probationary category would not be eligible for federal benefits in the senators' framework. This addresses the concern that public benefits, particularly health-related ones, are being spent on undocumented immigrants.

The framework recognizes that a different sort of process would be needed for "the best and brightest," including highly-skilled workers and those with higher education. This has been previously addressed in the STEM Act which was ultimately vetoed by the White House.